Murder with Reservations (Dead-End Job Mystery) [Hardcover]

Elaine Viets (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dead-End Job Mystery | Publication Date: May 1, 2007

Helen Hawthorne has a knack for keeping a low profile. But in South Florida, it's going to get a lot harder to fly under the radar...

Working at Sybil's Full Moon Hotel in Fort Lauderdale keeps Helen safe and sane. But when a maid is found dead in a Dumpster, those days just might be over. Dead bodies mean another chance for the cops to find her. To make matters worse, her ex-husband is hot on her trail. Sadly, the cops don't seem to care much about a murdered maid-but they take notice of her coworker's shady story. If Helen doesn't manage to dodge their questions and shake off her ex, it could be checkout time.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Yuppie-turned-menial-job-hunter Helen Hawthorne, still on the run from her deadbeat ex-husband, is keeping a low profile with backbreaking work as a maid at Sybil's Full Moon Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in Viets's humorous and socially conscious sixth whodunit (after 2006's Murder Unleashed). Helen's sister warns her that her ex, Rob, is hot on her trail, determined to hunt her down and claim his settlement money, but the heads-up doesn't alleviate Helen's fear and anger when she spies Rob checking in at her place of employment. Her postmarital troubles soon take a backseat to the main mystery, though: six months earlier, a bank robber checked into the Full Moon and supposedly stashed his loot ($100,000) somewhere on the premises before he was killed in a shootout. Helen's co-worker Rhonda goes missing, and a new cleaning guy shows up who's a little too cute to be true before Viets ties it all together for some rollicking fun and felony tempered with a dash of Nickel and Dimed. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Elaine Viets is also the author of the Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper series and numerous short stories. An Anthony Award and Agatha Award winner, she lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with her husband. Author website: elaineviets.com, and blog: thelipstickchronicles.com.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: NAL Hardcover; 1ST edition (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451221117
• ISBN-13: 978-0451221117
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,350,679 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I write my novels with the help of Harry, a striped cat who sleeps by my computer and lashes the keyboard with his tail. He whips me into a writing frenzy.
Harry collaborates on two series, the Dead-end Job mysteries and the Josie Marcus Mystery Shopper series. He's doing a good job -- I just signed a contract with NAL/Signet for two more books in each series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Dead End Job yet, May 6, 2007

By 

Lori O "Mystery Lover" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder with Reservations (Dead-End Job Mystery) (Hardcover)

This was my favorite in the series so far. A fun read with all the usual twists and turns and unusual characters. The insight into minimum wage jobs is always enlightening and I'll never be able to stay in a hotel again without thinking of this book. I can't wait for the next one. I hope you have a full and speedy recovery from your stroke Elaine and can get back to working on the next installment. I can't wait to find out what happens next!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars God Bless Elaine Viets, May 4, 2007

By 

Nancy L. Smith "Puppyseed" (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Murder with Reservations (Dead-End Job Mystery) (Hardcover)

This wonderful book takes us and Helen Hawthorn into the world of the hotel maid. We have all stayed in at least one hotel in out lives have we ever stopped to think what the hotel maids see in their daily rounds of earning a living? I found this book to be entertaining and very informative. This is a must read. I was really shocked of the news of Elaine Viets suffering a stroke, such a beautiful talented lady My prayers and best wishes are with you. God Bless You Elaine.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 3 1/2 stars: a good, fun read, May 21, 2007

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder with Reservations (Dead-End Job Mystery) (Hardcover)

For fans of the series who have been wondering what would happen if Helen's horrible ex-husband ever caught up with her, this latest Dead-End installment takes a stab at answering the question. Whether or not you, as a reader, will be satisfied with the result will depend on what kind of resolution you're looking for.

Helen Hawthorne's latest dead-end job is as a hotel maid at Full Moon Hotel at Fort Lauderdale. The work is backbreaking and thankless, but Helen finds that she is up to the job. Her fellow workers as efficient and competent and mostly nice -- even perpetual complainer Rhonda has her good points. So that when Rhonda fails to turn up for work, Helen believes that Rhonda has finally had enough and has thrown her dustmop The last thing anyone expected was that Rhonda would turn up dead in the dumpster behind the hotel. For Helen, the horror of the situation is magnified: not only has another dead body turned up at her place of work, but Helen has just recently that her ex-husband has arrived at Fort Lauderdale, intent on tracking her down. Realising that she cannot afford to draw attention to herself, Helen resolves to discover who murdered Rhonda as quickly as possible before her ex catches up with her...

"Murder With Reservations" was a very quick and enjoyable read. The plot was well constructed with a few interesting plot twists to keep things interesting, and the character portrayals were sharp and mischievously acid in a light hearted way. Helen's refusal to face up to her husband may strike some readers as being a tad foolish -- esp since she had quite a few friends willing to help her face up to her ex-husband. But it seemed very plausible to me. For myself, I thought that Helen's attitude added a whole new psychological twist to the whole situation that should make for some rather interesting reading down the road when Helen finally feels strong enough to face her rat of an ex-husband. Speaking for myself, I rather enjoyed the author's creative handling of the whole ex-husband subplot. For now though, it'll just be interesting to see if Helen decides to quit her dead-end jobs or carry on. All in all a very enjoyable and aborbing read.